Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Apple and Google team up to tackle AirTag stalking

Apple and Google team up to tackle AirTag stalking

Devices like AirTags, Tile, Chipolo, and Pebblebee are supposed to be attached to belongings like wallets and bags, but there have been cases of people using them for criminal or malicious purposes - including alleged stalking.
Apple and Google have teamed up to thwart people who try to track others using devices designed to help find lost keys and luggage.

The rival tech giants do not often collaborate on new features for their smartphones, with a joint initiative to create contact tracing software during the pandemic one of few past examples.

But now they have submitted a proposal to set standards for combating secret surveillance, following reports that gadgets like Apple's AirTags have been used for malicious purposes.

A lawsuit filed in San Francisco in December alleged that women had been stalked by ex-partners who hid the devices in their belongings - including a car and a child's backpack.

Apple insisted it had made the small, disc-shaped gadgets "stalker-proof", but has acknowledged that "bad actors" have tried misusing them.

While AirTags have become especially popular since being released in 2021, the same concerns apply to similar products including Tile and Pebblebee.

The devices use Bluetooth technology and are designed to be attached to easily lost items like wallets, which then show up in an app on the user's smartphone.

'Industry-wide action required'

Apple and Google, which run the iOS and Android mobile operating systems respectively, have previously worked on their own solutions to the malicious tracking issue.

iPhone users are now warned if an unknown AirTag might be "travelling with them", for example.

But the two companies want to go further by proposing an industry standard, and they hope to submit it to an organisation called the Internet Engineering Task Force later this year.

Dave Burke, Google's vice president of engineering for Android, said the issue of unwanted tracking "requires industry-wide action to solve".

A draft proposal has suggested security upgrades that apply to all tracking devices would be delivered via regular software updates to Apple and Android smartphones.

The move was welcomed by campaigners, with the National Network to End Domestic Violence's Safety Net Project saying it would "decrease the burden on survivors in detecting unwanted trackers".
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Unelected PM of the UK holds an emergency meeting because a candidate got voted in… which he says is a threat to democracy…
Farmers break through police barriers in Brussels.
Ukraine Arrests Father-Son Duo In Lockbit Cybercrime Bust
US Offers $15 Million For Info On Leaders Of Cybercrime Group Lockbit
Apple warns against drying iPhones with rice
Alexei Navalny: UK sanctions Russian prison chiefs after activist's death
German economy is in 'troubled waters' - ministry
In a recent High Court hearing, the U.S. argued that Julian Assange endangered lives by releasing classified information.
Tucker Carlson says Boris Johnson wants "a million dollars, in Bitcoin or cash, from Tucker Carlson to talk about Ukraine.
Russia is rebuilding capacity to destabilize European countries, new UK report warns
EU Commission wants anti-drone defenses at Brussels HQ
Von der Leyen’s 2nd-term pitch: More military might, less climate talk
EU Investigates TikTok for Child Safety Concerns
EU Launches Probe Into TikTok Over Child Protection Under Digital Content Law
EU and UK Announce Joint Effort on Migration
Ministers Confirm Proposal to Prohibit Mobile Phone Usage in English Schools
Avdiivka - Symbol Of Ukrainian Resistance Now In Control Of Russian Troops
"Historic Step": Zelensky Signs Security Pact With Germany
"Historic Step": Zelensky Signs Security Pact With Germany
Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny has died at the Arctic prison colony
Tucker Carlson grocery shopping in Russia. This is so interesting.
France and Germany Struggle to Align on European Defense Strategy
‘A lot higher than we expected’: Russian arms production worries Europe’s war planners
Greece Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage and Adoption Rights
Russia "Very Close" To Creating Cancer Vaccines, Says Vladimir Putin
Hungarian Foreign Minister: Europeans will lose Europe, the Union's policy must change drastically
Microsoft says it caught hackers from China, Russia and Iran using its AI tools
US Rejects Putin's Ceasefire Offer in Ukraine
The Dangers of Wildfire Smoke and Self-Protection Strategies
A Londoner has been arrested for expressing his Christian beliefs.
Chinese Women Favor AI Boyfriends Over Humans
Greece must address role in migrant vessel disaster that killed 600: Amnesty
Google pledges 25 million euros to boost AI skills in Europe
Hungarian President Katalin Novák Steps Down Amid Pardon Controversy
Activist crashes Hillary Clinton's speech, calls her a 'war criminal.'
In El Salvador, the 'Trump of Latin America' stuns the world with a speech slamming woke policing after winning a landslide election
Trudeau reacts to Putin's mention of Canadian Parliament applauding a former Ukrainian Nazi in his interview with Tucker Carlson.
The Spanish police blocked the farmers protest. So the farmers went out and moved the police car out of the way.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy fires top Ukraine army commander
Tucker Carlson's interview with Vladimir Putin raises EU concerns
Finnish Airline, Finnair, is voluntarily weighing passengers to better estimate flight cargo weight
Russia's Economy Expands by 3.6% Due to Increased Military Spending
Ukraine MPs Vote To Permit Use Of Dead Soldiers' Sperm
German Princess Becomes First Aristocrat To Pose Naked On Playboy Cover
UK’s King Charles III diagnosed with cancer
EU's Ursula von der Leyen Confronts Farmer Protests Amid Land Policy Debates
Distinguishing Between Harmful AI Media and Positive AI-Generated Content: A Crucial Challenge for the EU
Tucker Carlson explains why he interviewed Putin
Dutch farmers are still protesting in the Netherlands against the government, following the World Economic Forum's call for 'owning nothing.'
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stands up for European farmers and says, 'Brussels is suffocating European farmers.
×